The CVS on my corner has started locking up basic items like clothing detergent.
As so many families can’t make ends meet right now, I can’t imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them. https://t.co/5RsdMTDWqa
— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) May 22, 2021
The solution was so simple…
Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon is receiving social media blowback for a recent post in which she expressed bewilderment that her local CVS drug store is taking anti-shoplifting measures by locking up basic products like laundry detergent.
Cynthia Nixon — who ran unsuccessfully for New York governor in 2018 — tweeted her comment along with her disbelief shoplifting can be prosecuted as a crime. “As so many families can’t make ends meet right now, I can’t imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them,” she tweeted.
Her comment set off a chain of criticism, with some questioning her seemingly lax attitude toward theft and accusing her of being an out-of-touch, wealthy progressive. Others noted Tide laundry detergent has become a form of currency in certain criminal circles.
Shoplifting has recently had serious consequences in the drug store industry, where stores can operate on slim margins. A wave of shoplifting has forced Walgreens to close ten stores in San Francisco, with one store reportedly losing $1,000 a day to theft.
Rich people saying “we should just allow poor people to steal” seems like one of the more bizarre things that can happen, but I imagine this is not a new line of thought for the rich.
I could see corrupt elite during the collapse of Rome responding to poverty by recommending that theft be legalized.
Of course, it’s mostly black people and other racial minorities that steal in the first place. White people tend to have some notion of dignity.
I grew up poor, and we never took anything that we hadn't paid for. It's insulting that you think the less fortunate have no ability to discern right from wrong. Also, allowing widespread theft will result in higher prices, punishing the poor and honest.
— Lynn M (@LynannMacdonald) May 23, 2021
Cynthia, if you really patronized @cvspharmacy or @Walgreens in the city you’d know that Red Bull, deodorant, toothpaste and other items are now locked up because they’re stolen by low level criminals and then resold.
— Rob Taub (@robmtaub) May 23, 2021
Why not open the door of your $million-dollar apt and let people take what they need?
— Barney TheDeceiver (@BThedeceiver) May 24, 2021
theyre not using it. theyre selling it. for drugs. pic.twitter.com/N65StzXg7j
— KillerTomato, BMF (@TackOfThe) May 24, 2021
This article was updated to show that Cynthia Nixon is not actually Jewish, but was only married to a Jew. Snake Baker will probably be fired for this.